MLB All-Star Week officially kicked off on Saturday with a plethora of events scheduled to take place throughout the greater Cleveland, Ohio, area.
The festivities commenced with PLAY BALL PARK, located at the Huntington Convention Center of Cleveland and The Malls. At the indoor theme park, fans of all ages can take part in over 40 attractions and 600,000 square feet of baseball-themed activities.
Fans that purchase a ticket to PLAY BALL PARK are eligible to take swings in the MLB Home Run Derby VR Tournament, where participants will have 90 seconds to hit as many home runs as possible using a virtual reality bat controller.
Qualifying rounds will be held on July 6 and 7, with the ensuing championship round set to take place on Monday. PLAY BALL PARK will be open on an everyday basis through Tuesday, July 9.
Also beginning Saturday was “The Bridge,” a cultural event with an emphasis on fashion and the arts that is meant to bring the community closer.
Later that evening was the second night of the 2019 MLB All-Star Concert Series, where Grammy-nominated rock band The Killers took the stage in Mall B of PLAY BALL PARK outside of the Huntington Convention Center.
Sunday’s festivities began with The Color Run MLB All-Star 5K — the world’s largest 5K event. The sixth edition of the race will take place in Downtown Cleveland.
A trio of other events took place later in the afternoon, beginning with the MLB All-Star Celebrity Softball Game. The Cleveland roster consisted of Allie LaForce, Carlos Baerga, Dr. Oz, Drew Carey, Jim Thome, Joe Thomas, J.R. Smith, Kenny Lofton, Machine Gun Kelly, Mike “The Miz” Mizanin, Quavo, Simone Biles, Stephanie Beatriz, Stipe Miocic, Travis Hafner and Travis Kelce.
Playing for the World roster were Anthony Mackie, Anuel AA, Colton Underwood, Bernie Williams, Daddy Yankee, Dascha Polanco, Jamie Foxx, Jennie Finch, Jerry Lorenzo, Johnny Bananas, Max Greenfield, Priah Ferguson, Quincy, Ryan Howard and Scott Rogowsky.
World defeated Cleveland, 21-16.
Of course, @TheRealJRSmith popped his shirt off at the All-Star Celebrity Softball Game. 😂 pic.twitter.com/YwjFpIGrYl
— Cut4 (@Cut4) July 7, 2019
The second part of the doubleheader at Progressive Field featured the annual SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game. Representing the Los Angeles Dodgers in the contest were top prospects Gavin Lux and Dustin May.
Following the exhibition game, fans were be treated to a special adaptation of the Cleveland Indians award-winning annual fireworks and multimedia show, billed as All-Star Rock ‘n’ Blast.
On Monday is the highly-anticipated T-Mobile Home Run Derby. Among the participants include, New York Mets slugger Pete Alonso, Pittsburgh Pirates first baseman Josh Bell, Houston Astros third baseman Alex Bregman, Joc Pederson, Atlanta Braves outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr., Indians hometown hero Carlos Santana and Toronto Blue Jays star Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
Milwaukee Brewers right fielder Christian Yelich was scheduled to take his swings as well, earning the No. 1 seed with 31 home runs in the first half, but withdrew due to a back injury. Yelich was replaced by Oakland Athletics third baseman Matt Chapman.
Closing out the festivities will be the 2019 MLB All-Star Game on Tuesday, July 9. Dave Roberts manages the National League for a second consecutive year while Cody Bellinger and Hyun-Jin Ryu will be penciled into the lineup.
Other Dodgers representatives include Walker Buehler, Clayton Kershaw and Max Muncy, who was recently named a replacement in the exhibition contest for Washington Nationals third baseman Anthony Rendon.